Populants
Populants, also called tribesmen, are the individuals that make up a player's tribe. They can be manipulated to attack other Tribes and create new settlements, thus earning the player Mana. Populants are created from settlements, and can take on numerous attributes depending on the size of a settlement. These can range from weak/old populants to knights. Populants can form settlements on land which is flat and which is not already filled by another settlement or enemy tribe. They can seek out flat land to settle on if the player selects the Settlements option on the top of the screen. The player can also guide them to appealing flat land using Waypoints, which they can then settle on if the Settlements option is then selected. However, using Waypoints can consume a reasonable amount of mana. This means that you might not be able to use them as much early in the game, and therefore will have to provide appropriate amounts of flat land around your current settlements for populants to expand into. Commands Tribesmen are indirectly controlled using one of three actions in the game. These are selected by using the buttons on the top bar of the screen. *'Settlements' - Indicated by a house icon, the populants will build a settlement on available flat land. The size of the settlement is determined by the area of flat land given. *'Waypoint' - This action calls all populants to gather at the set waypoint. The icon appears as a star. To place a Waypoint, you can use the Waypoint power which requires 50 mana. To use Waypoints regularly, you will probably need a couple of settlements which are reasonably developed. *'Look for a Fight' - All populants will pursue enemy tribe members and their settlements, and engage in battle. They will not form settlements in all open land any more, although they might still form settlements around enemy territory once they have reached it. Deaths Tribesmen can be killed due to combat with other Tribesmen or Heroes, Burning in Lava, Fire Clouds, Fire Columns, or drowning in Water or a Swamp. Tribesmen can also die of Old Age. Old Age If a Tribesman has been alive for some time they will grow old, as indicated by a grey Speech Bubble above their heads. They either need to find a place to settle quickly, need to find a friendly settlement, or they will expire and die (in an animation where they turn gray and disappear). Leaders The first Tribesman to reach a waypoint becomes a Leader, which enables the ability to transform him into a Hero using one of the three Hero Totems. Heroes Leaders can develop into Heroes using the appropriate totem's power. These characters are more powerful than usual Tribesmen, and they might also have additional abilities which allow them to destroy enemy settlements more efficiently. They will often destroy enemy settlements rather than capturing them, yet this can still cause chaos behind enemy lines. The Pandora's Box ability can be used on any planet other than Euporie, and it unleashes a group of heroes into a given area. You can obtain heroes either from Pandora's Box, or by using a power to promote a leader into a hero. Settlements Tribesmen spawn from Settlements. The larger the settlement, the Stronger the type of Tribesman that will spawn. Stronger Tribesmen are useful for attacking weaker members of other tribes, and also for attacking weaker buildings. Mana is also generated faster, based on the size of the Settlements that you have. Tribesmen can attack Settlements, and if successful, that settlement will come under said tribe's control. Larger settlements are harder to attack, and warrant having stronger Tribesmen to affront it. If a settlement has no one in it, due the player or the AI using Kindle, it will take less to win it over, as empty buildings are considered 'undefended' by the game. Relics Gaining control of Relics in the world (they look like a clay vase) is achieved by having a settlement on its tile. The game states that they will help you to weaken enemy tribes, and make battles easier. One contributer's current understanding is that controlling these points increases your spawn rate, and hampers the enemies' settlements. XP XP is used in the Universe to level up your Totem Powers, giving them a larger area of effect, longer duration, or increasing their Health, depending on the type of Totem. Collision handling This is most pertinently an issue upon game spawning (when your populants are closest together), or under a Waypoint. If two populants of the same tribe bump into one another they will merge energy resulting in a stronger populant. This is shown by a 'Yellow Bubbles' animation.